DISTRICT 204 OFFICIAL IS CONFIDENT BLOCK SCHEDULING CAN DOUBLE RESULTS

Will Hacker, Special to the TribuneCHICAGO TRIBUNE

Oddly enough, what could become the biggest shakeup in Joliet High School District 204 since its East campus was closed in 1983 has its roots in Lockport.

It was as principal of Lockport High School District 205's Central Campus that James Clark, now Joliet's assistant superintendent for educational services, first explored the world of block scheduling. Although the Lockport system retained its traditional schedule, Clark remained interested in the new concept and hopes to apply it in Joliet.

"This is intended to boost the performance of students and the attitudes they hold toward school," said Clark, who hopes to have a block schedule in place by the 1995-96 school year.

In a block schedule, students meet for 80 to 100 minutes at a time and attend only three or four classes each day. Joliet's current system has students enrolled in seven classes a day, for 55 minutes at a time. Block classes would meet every other day, so that students would get roughly the same amount of time weekly in each subject while being exposed to the subject for longer periods.

Clark said Joliet students score about average on assessment tests, but may do better with block scheduling.

"Part of the magic of this is that it can help students have better relationships with their teachers and a better understanding of the course material," Clark said.

But in the next few months, Clark wants to spend time preparing a recommendation for the school board, the 15-member restructuring committee will have to iron out problems like what to do with students on the days when only three classes meet, and how a block schedule would affect band students, who prefer practicing for shorter sessions every day.

In the search for those answers, Clark and his committee have talked with school administrators from California, Utah and, of course, Will County.

"We haven't had any problems with block scheduling, although it's a little early to tell," said Steven Thomas, whose Minooka High School began using a block schedule in September. "The biggest problem we had was that there was no one around us who'd done it, so we felt like we were charting strange waters."

Clark echoed that sentiment, saying even those schools that began using block schedules five years ago are only now starting to collect data on whether test scores have increased for students who've gone through four years of block classes.

But, he says, from what he's heard, block scheduling has led to improved student performance. "Of the people I've talked to, none have said they would go back to the traditional schedule."

Between now and when he makes a recommendation to the board, Clark said, the restructuring committee will meet with parents, teachers, students and community members. "A lot depends on what the community says," Clark said. "We're not going to push through something that isn't wanted."